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1 Danube University Krems Department for Migration and Globalization Women and the economic crisis Integrating social services to safeguard social wellbeing and to promote economic growth Gudrun Biffl November 2011 Report commissioned by the Chamber of Labour in Vienna

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3 Danube University Krems Department for Migration and Globalization Women and the economic crisis Integrating social services to safeguard social wellbeing and to promote economic growth Gudrun Biffl Monograph Series Migration and Globalization November 2011 This study was commissioned by the Chamber of Labour in Vienna. Opinions stated in this report are in the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Chamber of Labour or of Danube University Krems. Edition Donau Universität Krems, Department für Migration und Globalisierung ISBN: DUK interne Projektnummer: Recommended citation: Biffl, Gudrun (2011) Women and the economic crisis Integrating social services to safeguard social wellbeing and to promote economic growth. Monograph Series Migration and Globalization, Krems (Edition Donau Universität Krems).

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5 Women and the economic crisis Integrating social services to safeguard social wellbeing and to promote economic growth Contents Contents...1 List of figures Introduction The recent economic crisis and the labour market Employment and the role of social services Social services and their organisational principles Industrialisation and flexible specialisation of social services Social services and regional economic growth Good practice examples: a selection National best practise examples International best practise examples Recommendations and conclusions References

6 List of figures Figure 1: Economic growth in Austria in EU comparison (change versus year ago of real GDP in %)...4 Figure 2: Relative economic growth of federal states (cumulated economic growth differential relative to the Austrian average, prices 2005)...4 Figure 3: Internal and external migration by political districts in Austria , per 1,000 inhabitants...5 Figure 4: Male activity rates by age groups in selected EU member states Figure 5: Female activity rates by age groups in selected EU member states Figure 6: Public spending on family benefits and its components in selected OECD countries (in % of GDP): Figure 7: Positive correlation between female employment rate (2010) and GDP per capita (in PPS)...9 Figure 8: Integration of social services by deepening and widening the local social infrastructure...14 Figure 9: Specialisation of local communities and cooperation in the provision of social services

7 1. Introduction The economic crisis of 2008/09 hit the small Austrian open economy severely GDP declined by 3.8% in 2009 and the economic shock wave hit the labour market more than expected. Employment of wage and salary earners declined by 1.5% (total employment by 0.9%) and some 67,000 workers or 2% of the workforce were on short term work (Kurzarbeit), an active labour market policy measure to reduce the cost pressure of falling demand on enterprises and the shock of unemployment on the workforce. The countercyclical employment and active labour market policies implemented had thus a twopronged approach. On the one hand they were to shield workers and their families from an abrupt deterioration of family income; on the other hand they were intent on reducing the impact of the decline in demand of goods and services on the production costs of export oriented enterprises. The policies implemented did not, however, have a vision of long run policy reorientation towards an increasingly knowledge driven society in which a sound social economy and infrastructure represents the backbone of sustainable economic growth. Thus, the Austrian economy and society continue to be firmly grounded in the male breadwinner model, where a major part of care work is relegated to the household and where full day schools and nurseries continue to be the exception rather than the rule. Accordingly, 43% of female work is parttime (2010), a practice which tends to reduce chances of raising the level of efficiency and the proportion of professionals in care work on the one hand and career opportunities of women (and men) in the respective employment sectors on the other. The high and rising gender pay gap is only one outcome (25.4% in 2009) of this policy stance, the pronounced gender segmentation of education streams and occupations another. 1 This raises the question to what extent socio economic development policies which are backed up by an innovative and flexible social infrastructure can be an avenue towards the achievement of sustainable economic growth and social cohesion in various regional settings. Towards this end the study looks into ways and means to promote social services provision such that they are affordable for everyone while at the same time being of high quality; another issue refers to the incentive systems necessary to promote formal employment in social services and the implications for the institutional set up of social infrastructure, above all of child care and care services for the elderly and needy. Given this research objective four Austrian pilot regions were selected which face different challenges in the funding and organisation of social services due to large disparities in the demographic, geographic and socio economic environment. The demographic differences arise largely from diverging developments in the composition of the regional population by age, skills and ethnic and cultural background. While some regions are confronted by pronounced outmigration, mainly of This is an abridged and updated version of a research study undertaken in German by the Department of Migration and Globalisation at the Danube University Krems (Biffl et al.). I thank Anna Faustmann for research assistance and for updating the statistical data files. 1 For more see Biffl 2010:

8 young and dynamic skilled workers, others are marked by increasing population inflows, often of external migrants in the wake of family reunification and chain migration. Obviously, the social policy mix in the first region, which is faced by rapid population ageing, has to be different to the one in the second region, which has a slower ageing process but a rising, ethnically diverse population. Not only is the composition of social policy affected by that change but also the economic growth potential. While regional net outmigration is sapping the very life blood of economic growth, skilled labour, the increasing ethnic diversity of the population poses other challenges. As it is largely flowing from chain migration, the skill composition of the migrant inflows tends to be at the lower end of the educational attainment level. In the absence of a comprehensive system of lifelong learning growth options are not overwhelming, particularly as those regions tend to be old industrial zones which face substantial international competition in the wake of the internationalisation of industrial production. In this context it is becoming increasingly obvious that local decision makers are faced by different challenges, depending on their local demographic and socio economic ramifications, not least because of diverse skill requirements in the various social services, which the local education and training system very often cannot sufficiently supply. Accordingly, the issue of the organisation of social services moves centre stage, in particular the mix between services provided in a community context by the market, by households and by the informal sector and the implications for the education and training system and for public funding. In order to find some answers to these questions the study looks into the social service provision in four EU MS with a highly developed social infrastructure and compares the various institutional setups and regulations with Austria. The countries selected for comparison are the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and France. The focus of the analysis lies on the impact of a well developed social infrastructure on the activity and employment rate, on the funding and organisation of various social services, on the implications of different incentives for individuals and for public policy, in particular the investment in further education and training, which has long run implications for economic growth. The four Austrian regions selected for in depth analysis are Neunkirchen, Schwechat, Osttirol and Leopoldstadt. The first is an old industrial zone in Lower Austria, which was among the first to employ migrant workers in the 1960s. Today the industries with a high foreign workers share are under severe international competitive pressure (textiles, clothing, metal and machine industries), diminishing the economic growth potential of the region. Native workers are starting to move out in search of better job opportunities; the outflow is more than compensated by migrant inflows. Schwechat on the other hand is situated at the Eastern border of Vienna in Lower Austria, en route to the international airport, with good transport and road connections but fairly weak social infrastructure. Population grows due to inflows of young, dynamic and skilled workers from Vienna, largely working in business oriented services. They are grasping the opportunity for acquiring good quality and affordable housing, not considering the implications of a lack of flexible childcare services in the vicinity. 2

9 Osttirol is a peripheral, mountainous region in Tyrol, far from any dynamic economic agglomeration. The services sector is underdeveloped, apart from tourism, and SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) in the commercial and industrial and crafts segment are dominating the economy. The whole region is falling behind in economic growth relative to the rest of Tyrol, leading to net outflows of skilled workers, population decline and rapid ageing. Consequently schools are closing down in rural regions while the demand for elderly care is rising. The fourth region, Leopoldstadt, is a district in the city of Vienna with a high share of ethnically diverse migrants in the population. The rainbow district harbours inhabitants with a wide spectrum of socio economic backgrounds, poor and unskilled labourers of diverse migrant background in some of the old housing complexes on the one hand and highly skilled natives and migrants on the other. The region is increasingly also attracting Bobos 2, giving the region a flair of being in. 2. The recent economic crisis and the labour market In international comparison the recent economic crisis reached Austria somewhat later than our main trading partner, Germany, but hit the economy just as hard. It affected above all export and market oriented industries. Given the pronounced industrial and occupational gender segmentation of employment, the crisis affected above all male employment. Women experienced hardly any employment declines, the gender segmentation effect being augmented by an added worker effect. This means that female labour supply increased in the year of the crisis in order to stabilise family income (+12,000 or 0.7%), while male labour supply declined ( 13,400 or 0.7%). This employment behaviour of women tended to contribute to the more than proportional employment losses of migrants who are on the one hand concentrated upon cyclically sensitive jobs, on the other in jobs where they are in competition with secondary workers, often low skilled married native women. As a result migrants became unemployed and many escaped into informal work, often cleaning and care work in domestic services. On a regional level, longer term economic growth is not equally distributed. While the more industrialised regions in the West of Austria tend to be on a positive, stable longer term growth path, the regions in the South and East tend to have a more volatile growth performance. Vienna is in a particularly difficult situation as it is losing some of its traditional industries to neighbouring regions and countries in the East, while the objective to become a hub for international market and business oriented services for the CENTROPE region is slow to materialise (Römisch et al. 2011). Accordingly, unemployment rates tend to be highest in Southern and Eastern regions of Austria and lowest in the West. But also in Western federal states (Bundesländer) peripheral regions like Osttirol face high and rising unemployment and population declines (Biffl et al. 2009). 2 This term is an oxymoron composed of the two terms Bourgois and Bohemien, featuring in David Brooks book Bobos in Paradise (2000). 3

11 2010 per 1,000 inhabitants). Accordingly, the population grows in Schwechat (Wien Umgebung) due to net inflows from other regions in Austria, largely Vienna, and to a lesser extent also through external net inflows. In contrast, Neunkirchen experiences a net outflow of natives which is more than compensated by net external inflows. This holds also for the second Vienna district of Leopoldstadt, which has a growing population due to external migration inflows which are significantly higher than the outflows from the district. Osttirol (Lienz) on the other hand has a declining population due to net internal and external outflows. Figure 3: Internal and external migration by political districts in Austria , per 1,000 inhabitants 100,0 80,0 Wien 2., Leopoldstadt 60,0 external migration 40,0 20,0 Districts with net emigration. Neunkirchen Wien (Umgebung) 0,0 Lienz 20,0 100,0 80,0 60,0 40,0 20,0 0,0 20,0 40,0 60,0 80,0 100,0 S: St.At. internal migration Summarized migration balance in relation to population of The changing size and composition of the population by age and ethnic background has important implications for the provision of social services including education. Osttirol has to transfer funds and infrastructure away from childcare and schools to health and care services for the elderly, thereby potentially speeding up the process of outmigration of young families with children. Neunkirchen on the other hand has rising numbers of children of migrant background in need of special migrant sensitive care and schooling. Also labour market services are confronted with a greater need for active labour market policy measures to raise the employability of the workforce. In this situation the development of an efficient and adequate social economy and infrastructure may play an important role in putting a break on outmigration and in securing local labour supply to bolster the economic growth potential. 3. Employment and the role of social services Austria s labour market integration of the working age population (15 to 64) is slightly higher than in the EU on average. The activity rate of men was 80.9% in 2010 compared to 77.7% in the EU 27 and 5

12 79.0% in the EU 15. For women, the activity rate was 69.3% in Austria relative to 64.5% in the EU 27 and 65.8% in the EU 15. Not only the levels of labour force participation differ considerably between the member states, particularly in the case of women, but also and primarily the age patterns. This is largely due to different, historically grown social protection and education systems, which account for large variations in the activity rates at the lower and upper end of the age spectrum, in the case of women also the medium age bracket. Figure 4: Male activity rates by age groups in selected EU member states ,0 90,0 80,0 70,0 60,0 50,0 40,0 30,0 EU 27 EU 15 Denmark Germany France Italy Netherlands AUSTRIA Sweden United Kingdom Norway 20,0 10,0 0,0 S: Eurostat While in some countries youth tends to be engaged in full time schooling until the age of 17 or 18, not offering opportunities for combining school with part time work (e.g. Italy and France), other countries like Austria have important educational streams, namely the apprenticeship system, which combine theoretical, school based learning with on the job training. This explains the high proportion of 15 to 20 year olds in employment in Austria and the low rates in Italy. In contrast, Austria is among the EU MS with the lowest degree of integration of older workers into the labour market while the Nordic countries have the highest rates. These disparities arise from different retirement systems and labour market regulations. While Austria, Italy, Belgium and France have opened up early exit routes from the labour market for mature workers, whose employability was reduced in the wake of economic restructuring and the wear and tear of work, the Nordic countries opened up avenues for part time work and a slow down in work, supported by financial incentives to stay on (OECD 2006). The effect of these policies on activity rates of men can be taken from Figure 4. In contrast, the different organisation of care work and other social services is the major explanatory factor for the significant differences in activity rates of women in the medium age bracket (Biffl 2004). This is the phase in life where women and men try to strike a balance between market work and family life. A different set of taxes, transfer payments and public services in the various EU MS 6

13 results in a divergence of incentives to provide services, largely care work, at home or in the labour market. In the Nordic countries, a tax system based on individual taxation with high marginal tax rates provides the incentive for every family member to engage in market work. Thus, the state welfare system opened up formal sector employment opportunities for women, allowing female employment rates to rise to male levels. Accordingly, social services are organised by the state rather than the family at home. A solidaristic wage policy reduced the wage gap between men and women to one of the lowest in Europe in spite of a pronounced gender segmentation of work men are predominantly working in private industries and women cluster in care oriented public services 3. Figure 5: Female activity rates by age groups in selected EU member states ,0 90,0 80,0 70,0 60,0 50,0 40,0 30,0 EU 27 EU 15 Denmark Germany France Italy Netherlands AUSTRIA Sweden United Kingdom Norway 20,0 10,0 0,0 S: Eurostat In contrast, in countries like Austria, a complex system of family allowances (tax rebates for single earner households and child care benefits) together with generous transfer payments to households (benefits for the disabled and (older) persons in need of care), promotes the provision of personal services by households rather than the market. While Austria has introduced a system of individual taxation in the early 1970s, it cannot completely offset the incentive provided by tax benefits and transfers for service provision in the household. As a result, employment rates of women in Austria are lower than in the Scandinavia, particularly if calculated on the basis of full time equivalents. (Figure 5) In this context the two sides of the social economy become manifest: on the one hand social services open up employment opportunities for women, to a lesser extent for men in view of the persistence of traditional gender roles; on the other hand the availability of adequate, affordable and good 3 Research on gender segregation of work demonstrates that high levels of occupational segregation of work exist in all modern industrial societies, also in Scandinavia. There is considerable consistency across countries in the extent to which women are concentrated in certain major occupational groups (Anker, 1998). 7

14 quality social services is a prerequisite for women to turn to the market for social service provision, in particular care work. Consequently, the higher the activity rate of women, the higher the share of social service provision via the formal labour market. Compared to other EU countries, Austria invested relatively little in the expansion of the so called productive social infrastructure, i.e. affordable high quality child care, elderly care and other social services (Bock Schappelwein et al. 2009). It can be taken from Figure 6 that public expenditures on family policy in Austria are higher than in the OECD on average, with 2.6% of GDP compared to 2.2% in The bulk of the money goes into cash benefits to the households: Cash benefits sum up to 27.4% of the household income of the working age population in Austria, compared to 15.8% in the OECD on average (OECD 2008: 103). Funding of institutionalised child care services on the other hand makes up only a small part of public expenditures. Figure 6: Public spending on family benefits and its components in selected OECD countries (in % of GDP): ,00 Cash Services Tax breaks towards families 3,50 3,00 2,50 OECD-33 average =2.2% e =2.2% 2,00 1,50 1,00 0,50 0,00 France United Kingdom Sweden Hungary Denmark Belgium Luxembourg New Zealand Norway Iceland Netherlands Finland Australia Germany Ireland Austria Czech Republic Slovak Republic Israel Cyprus Slovenia Estonia Romania Poland Spain Switzerland Italy Canada Portugal Japan Bulgaria United States Lithuania Latvia Greece Malta Mexico Chile Korea S: OECD family data base. In contrast, in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, France, the UK and Germany a much higher proportion of public spending on child care goes into the provision of services by the formal labour market, either by public or private providers. The organisation of childcare services by the formal sector rather than by households or the informal sector does not only create employment opportunities but allows also the focus on specific needs of children, e.g. culturally sensitive care, via the division of labour and specialisation of services. In so doing, the quality of the service can be improved as well as the efficiency of service provision. Marketisation of household production does not only show up in a higher market employment rate of women but has also important implications for the production possibilities in the market sector. There is a positive relationship between the economic development level of an economy, measured in terms of GDP per capita, and the employment rate of women. (Figure 7) This may be explained by 8

15 the fact that the more complex the economy, the greater the need for diverse and highly specialised skills. In this environment, the market offers greater opportunities for the division of labour, the application of a different technology and the achievement of economies of scale than the household and informal sector. (Bassanini et al 2001, Behrens 2000/2003) Dhont & Heylen (2006) argue that the Nordic countries have performed best in Europe in terms of per capita economic growth in the period , (as well as or better than the US economy) due to marketisation of domestic work, which allows a more efficient allocation of resources. The consequence of outsourcing of domestic work to the market is a boost to the demand for low skilled labour. In contrast, the preservation of work in the household sector tends to lock in any type of skills in household work. This fact may contribute to skill shortages on the labour market and thereby restrict the economic growth potential. As Freeman & Schettkat (2001) put it: As long as some skilled and educated persons produce in the household, rather than buying in the market, the demand for low skill labour will be less in the economy with greater household production. Figure 7: Positive correlation between female employment rate (2010) and GDP per capita (in PPS) Scandinavian countries Central European countries DK NO 70 DE SE NL Employment rate of women Transition countries BG RO LV LT PL EE SK HU PT CZ SI CY ES FR FI GB BE AT IE Anglo Saxon countries 45 GR IT 40 Mediterranean countries S: Eurostat. GDP per capita (average ) in PPS Thus outsourcing of household work increases employment opportunities in the market for persons of any skill level due to the greater potential of the market for the division of labour into various tasks and skill requirements. The output is produced more efficiently than in the household, in particular in those tasks which lend themselves to economies of scale and technical progress. This is to say that the market has the capacity to produce goods and services, which are substitutes for domestic work, more efficiently than the modern, core family, small scale households. Time use surveys in Europe show that in countries where women work lower hours in domestic work in favour of market work, they outsource above all laundry and ironing, cooking & dish washing, cleaning, child care for children over 7. (EC 2004) 9

16 Marketisation of household production contributes to a more efficient and equitable allocation of resources. The latter may raise the productive potential of the society and promote economic growth and welfare 4. The question of the causality is not clear, however. Is it the need for highly skilled labour resources in rapidly developing industrial and post industrial societies that pull women out of the household sector (demand pull factors) or are individualisation processes (supply push factors), in particular the autonomous trend towards higher education or changing social and cultural norms and values (featuring in equal opportunities legislations) the major driving forces for a new organisation and division of labour? For domestic work to be outsourced the market must have a productivity advantage over household production, i.e. the value of household production must be lower than the substitute market good. Time use surveys show that there is a clear negative correlation between GDP per capita and average working hours of women in domestic work. This negative relationship may partly be the result of an underestimation of the value of household production in GDP. The incentive to outsource domestic work to the market is affected by the earnings opportunities on the labour market on the one hand and the cost of market substitutes for domestic goods and services on the other. The relative prices are affected by the tax wedge between the household service (no taxes on household production in combination with transfer payments for non market work family benefits) and the market good (net earnings from market work in combination with market taxation of goods and services). The higher family transfer payments (particularly when combined with single earner tax rebates and/or combined family income taxation) the lower the incentive for women to work on the labour market. Also the dispersion of wages by skill level has an impact on outsourcing work from the household sector, i.e. the higher the wage dispersion the greater the incentive by the better skilled persons to transfer household work to the market and the lower for low skilled persons. Thus, the compressed wage differentials by skills in the Nordic countries in combination with high marginal tax rates and individual taxation provide an incentive to maximise market work on the part of all family members (supply side). As to the price of substitute domestic goods, the universal access to social services at comparatively low cost (highest productive government expenditures in the EU) in combination with low non employment transfers provides the incentive to buy substitutes for household goods and services on the market. Thus, the combination of institutional arrangements which act on the demand and supply side of the providers/consumers of social services promotes outsourcing of domestics work to the market sector. The market orientation of labour supply has the additional effect that it is a powerful incentive device to invest in one s human capital, i.e. education and training, to maximise individual and social returns. The social return to higher education is particularly pronounced in a society and economy which is increasingly based on knowledge work. In contrast, high income taxation, comparatively low skill differentials in wages and high nonemployment transfers to households (family benefits) promote the production of goods and services 4 Higher welfare levels may be associated with a low social gradient (small differences in income, education, housing standards), longevity and the preservation of a reproduction rate of fertility. The Nordic countries seem to do best on all these accounts and the Southern and CEECs worst. 10

17 in the household sector thereby reducing the labour supply of skilled workers and reducing potential economic growth. In contrast, the Anglo Saxon model (UK) promotes outsourcing of domestic work by low wage taxation and large wage differentials by skills on the one hand and limited (means tested) transfer payments to households, i.e. in a similar manner as the USA. The differences in the organisation and funding of child care do not only have an impact on the degree of integration of women into the labour market, on the extent of education and training of women and economic growth but also on the fertility rate. Countries that provide ample access to (heavily subsidised) child care facilities provided by the state or private institutions tend to have a higher fertility rate than countries which tend to relegate child care to the household. As a consequence, the Nordic countries take the lead in terms of the fertility rate 5 with an average of 1.9 children per woman. A similarly high rate can be found in France. All the other Central and Southern European countries with less comprehensive systems of full day public child care have lower fertility rates (on average 1.3). The Anglo Saxon countries (UK and Ireland) have also comparatively high fertility rates (1.8) as care services tend to be outsourced. In addition to public child care, a comprehensive school system, which offers full day schooling, does not only set human resources free in the household sector but contributes to the creation of jobs for professionals but also unskilled work. The same holds for the provision of care for the elderly (nursing homes or flexible mobile care in households organised by NGOs or communities). The organisation of these types of social services allows a healthy balance of work and family life for women and men in society without jeopardising the welfare of individuals or groups of persons. As a consequence of the interaction of the various incentive systems, more working potential is bound to the households in Austria than in Scandinavian countries. This is reflected in a lower female labour participation as well as a higher share of part time employed women in the main childbearing and rearing age, many of them half day or less working hours. Such behavioural patterns lead to a scarcity of labour, especially skilled labour, on the labour market. This results in a pressure to raise skilled immigration the introduction of the Red White Red Card of immigration in 2011 in Austria is evidence of this logic 6 and in faster urbanisation as people leave rural areas and move into towns. The latter is increasingly driven by outmigration of highly qualified women who need an adequate social infrastructure in order to improve their employment and earning opportunities without having to compromise and give up fertility. 4. Social services and their organisational principles International research indicates that the organisation of social services, in particular child care, care and assistance for the sick and elderly, and education and training does not only have an impact on the persons looked after and taken care of but also on the families, the regional economies and the productive potential (Morissey Warner 2007, OECD 2002). Where these services are organised locally via the labour market, not only female employment rates are higher but also the regional productive output. 5 Fertility rate is defined as the average number of live births to a woman in her reproductive years. 6 For more see Biffl Bock Schappelwein

18 To organise social services and to ensure certain quality standards, the support of the state is necessary, on the one hand to set up, coordinate and fund the provision of these services, on the other to define quality standards and quality assurance mechanisms. In Austria no comprehensive system which defines quality standards and criteria to which suppliers of social services have to adhere to is given. This holds to various degrees for the provision of care by the private sector, often self employed, as well as the public sector, mostly the communities, NGOs and of course households. Accordingly, the entry threshold for suppliers of care services is low, given vague criteria and limited control mechanisms. Consequently, it is not easy for households to make informed decisions on who to turn to for care services as there is a lack of information on the local availability of the various social services, the costs involved, the quality of the services offered, the opening hours, and the skills and competencies of the personnel involved in service provision. All these factors are important reasons for preferring to provide the services at home, often with the help of clandestine labour. Such circumstances are the feeding ground for the informal sector, which does not only circumvent the payment of taxes but also opens up opportunities for exploitation of clandestine workers. In addition, the quality of service provision for the individual consumer is not ensured. This raises the question on how best to re organise the current system of social service provision such that the needs of the individuals and groups of individuals are catered for while at the same time making the services affordable for the clients and consumers. This is where the situation in some EU MS is analysed, in search of best practice examples which can guide Austrian decision makers in their quest to improve service provision, while at the same time raising productivity and rendering the services affordable. Of course, the funding of social services plays an important role in service provision. The Netherlands is a particularly interesting case in this context as it implemented substantial reforms in social service provision as a result of increasing funding and budgetary problems as early as the 1980s (Kapteyn et al. 1998). Over the last 25 years the Netherlands moved away from transfer payments to households towards market provision. This policy did not only contribute to a rise in female employment but relaxed budgetary pressures and gave a boost to economic growth without compromising on the quality of service provision. Major organisational differences of social service provision are an outcome of different funding systems, the two possible roads being funding out of the general tax fund or out of contribution based social insurance funds. While it is often not easy to find a clear dividing line, some countries tend to be more centred upon the risk insurance principle, e.g. France, Austria and the Netherlands, while others have a focus on universal provision out of the general budget, e.g. the Nordic countries. Apart from the general funding principles organisational differences may arise from a different focus of subsidisation, be it the consumer or the provider of the service. The five EU MS chosen for detailed analysis have various combinations of the one and the other policy orientation in child and health care, resulting in a different set of incentive systems and differing degrees of provision by the market, the household and the informal sector (Bettio/Plantenga 2004: 86ff). The Netherlands, for example, finance child benefits out of the general tax fund (until the age of 18) while Austria is largely drawing upon employer and employee contributions and only to a limited 12

19 extent upon the general tax fund. In contrast, both countries finance health care services largely out of a health insurance fund. Denmark on the other hand is funding both child benefits (up until the age of 18) and health care out of the general budget, whereby the provision of these universal services is in kind. Sweden again is choosing a different path, paying child allowance until the age of 16, thereafter offering generous grants to youth in case of prolonged education. In France as well as in Austria social services are largely funded out of employer employee social insurance contributions. Child allowance is granted from the second child onwards in France until the age of 20. Austria, in contrast, pays child benefits for every child until the age of 25. This is an exceptional case in the EU and the Austrian way to subsidise further education of youth, in particular also university education. In France and Austria elderly over 60 in need of health care receive an income related but not means tested allowance, the amount depending on the level of need. In the Nordic countries, universal health care services are funded out of the general budget; institutional care and mobile services are increasingly intertwined. The French social services system is highly centralised giving less discretionary power to the municipalities than in the Nordic countries, Austria and the Netherlands. In Austria, up to 80% of the people in need of health care are cared for by family members, supported by mobile nurses and other social services. 5. Industrialisation and flexible specialisation of social services The analysis of the Austrian pilot regions and the expert interviews offered insights into the functioning of the system of social service provision and helped identify possibilities for increases in efficiency as well as the improvement of the quality of care services. A major source of productivity increases lies in the coordination of various types of social services in a local and regional context. Another is the integration of a set of services along a supply chain, i.e. a system of organisations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in bringing the service from the supplier to the consumer. The supply chain of social services is a complex and dynamic supply and demand network of social service providers and consumers of social services, linking them up, including all stakeholders, via information platforms and logistics. The latter is of particular importance in rural areas where the distances between the various communities are significant. They have to be bridged via flexible mobility and transport services in response to the needs of individuals and groups of people. The analysis suggests that the social economy can be organised with the help of scientific management methods similar to market oriented business services or consumer oriented market services in private industries. The personal service has to be customised according to the needs of the individuals while the organisational structures and the management may be industrialised. To co ordinate such a complex set of needs and providers is beyond the possibilities of individual households and private initiatives. What is needed is an institutional framework backed up by incentive systems like the subsidisation of care providers, which only receive the subsidy if more than one local community is served, thereby allowing economies of scale and the reduction of the fixed 13

20 cost element for every community. Such a scheme ensures the survival of child care services in remote communities thereby contributing to the stabilisation of local populations and economies. Figure 8: Integration of social services by deepening and widening the local social infrastructure Energy supply Flexible transport services Local supply of consumer oriented services Network of Social Services A special concern of the experts interviewed was the current lack of professionals in the area of care work. As a result, the proportion of persons in institutionalised care is significantly above the European average, which is costly both in financial as well as psychological terms. Many of the needs could be better served by combining mobile services in households, also of a highly specialised character, with institutional care. Today many household members offer care for which they are not properly trained. This may lead to a burn out and exasperation of the caretaker as well as the person who is receiving care. In order to ensure the affordability of social services of high quality which are close to home, the integration of various services which are coordinated locally, employing modern information and communication technology, may be an adequate way to go. Such a set up allows to serve diverse individual needs via the division of labour, creating jobs for professionals as well as less skilled workers. The productivity increases resulting from the division of labour and their coordinated implementation sets labour resources free which augment local labour supply thereby reducing skills shortages, which in turn raise the economic growth potential of the region. By outsourcing certain tasks (e.g. accounting, organisation of care services, coordination of transport services etc.) to specialised agencies or to one or the other municipality in a group of municipalities which cooperate, cost savings can be generated. The integration goes beyond supply and demand of services and includes various stakeholders and administrative levels and functions in a local and regional context. Figure 8 visualises such a concept of local services networks. Such a set up which cuts across various localities as well as services offers opportunities for reducing fixed cost elements of social infrastructure in the communities, where one local community may specialise on elderly care for a group of local communities while another may specialise on child care, tutoring etc. The various local communities and services are connected via flexible transport systems. (Figure 9) The social services network which is close to households and which combines mobile services with institutionalised care 14

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